Lilia Vu claimed her first LPGA Tour victory of the season after defeating Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim in a play-off on the Meijer LPGA Basic.
Vu overturned an eight-shot deficit throughout an exhilarating closing day at Blythefield Nation Membership, carding a bogey-free 65 to complete on 16 underneath alongside Kim – who squandered a five-shot in a single day lead – and Thompson.
The trio all birdied the par-five 18th in each the primary two additional play-off holes, earlier than Vu carded a successful birdie on the third additional play-off gap – as Thompson and Kim might solely make par – to say her fifth LPGA Tour title and first of the yr.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Vu mentioned. “I couldn’t believe I won this week. I think I was setting my bar really low so that I could meet it. I think because I tend to get in my own way when I’m trying to win, that’s when I don’t win most of the time, so just trying to stay in my lane, take advantage of all the good shots, and make all the birdie putts that I get.”
Vu’s comeback was one shot bigger than final week’s seven-shot deficit overturned by Linnea Strom of Sweden on the ShopRite LPGA Basic, with 4 birdies over the ultimate six holes serving to her publish the low spherical of the day.
Thompson birdied the 18th to card a four-under 68 and tie Vu, whereas Kim made one birdie and eight pars through the again 9 of her final-round 73 and failed to carry on to her sizeable in a single day benefit.
Vu gained 4 occasions in 2023 and will likely be among the many favourites for the KPMG Ladies’s PGA Championship, dwell on Sky Sports activities, having missed final month’s US Ladies’s Open whereas combating a again damage.
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Highlights from the ultimate spherical of the 2023 AIG Ladies’s Open at Walton Heath, the place Lilia Vu claimed her second main title of the season.
“It’s hard to feel 100 per cent, but I think I’ve been 95 per cent and I think, obviously, I played more than 18 holes today, so kind of feeling a little tight,” Vu mentioned. “It’s all good. It’s not the same as before.”
Thompson, the 11-time LPGA Tour winner who introduced final month that she’s going to retire from full-time competitors on the finish of the season, got here up simply in need of ending her five-year title drought.
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Thursday twentieth June 11:00pm
“Knowing I was five shots behind starting the day, I knew I had to have the pedal down and make a lot of birdies from the jump,” Thompson mentioned. “I can only control what I can control, so I just tried to focus one shot at a time and play within myself and my emotions. That’s all I could do. Whatever happens with the result happened, so happy with the result.”
Ally Ewing had a string of 4 straight birdies on her entrance 9 and briefly touched 17 underneath for the event, however a bogey-bogey-birdie end left her in fourth spot. Allisen Corpuz and South Korea’s Narin An each carded final-round 70s to share fifth.
What’s subsequent?
The ladies’s main season continues on the KPMG Ladies’s PGA Championship, held at Sahalee Nation Membership in Washington and all 4 rounds dwell on Sky Sports activities. Reside protection begins on Thursday from 9pm by way of the crimson button and 11pm on Sky Sports activities Golf. Stream the LPGA, majors and extra with NOW.
